RAVENS: WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARRIS, ON OUR SIDE OF THE STADIUM

The administration of MD Gov. Parris Glendening
"defended its optimistic predictions about the economic
benefits" of the Ravens' new stadium, disputing a recent
"legislative report that says the projections are
exaggerated," according to Charles Babington of the
WASHINGTON POST. Acting Secretary of the Department of
Business & Economic Development James Fielder said that the
legislative report "underestimates the ongoing economic and
fiscal impacts of the proposed Baltimore stadium."
Babington reports that the stadium's economic influence "has
been a touchy political subject" since '96 when Glendening
"fought hard" to gather support for publicly-financed $220M
stadium. In assessing the economic impact, Babington
reports that the two sides "differ" on the degree to which
the stadium-related spending would occur elsewhere if the
stadium didn't exist and on the size of the subsequent
"multiplier effect" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/24).